Secret Glory (2001)
Combines rare archival footage, old letters, and photographs to tell the story of Otto Rahn (1904-1939), who worked in Ahnenerbe, a Schutz-Staffel division in nazi Germany. Rahn was convinced he knew where to find the Holy Grail and, after being nominated an SS officer, he finally had the resources to pursue it. What he discovered remains as mysterious as his untimely death in 1939. "Stanley manages to conjure up the vision of a grand quest, which began in the 13th century and hasn't lost its alluring power until today." - Oldenberg Film Festival website.
Voice of the Moon (1990)
This 30-minute series of images Stanley recorded while he was in Afghanistan in the late 80's with some Mujahadin rebels (and also the late war journalist Carlos Mavrolean (1958-1998), who turn to pieces by the Russian invasion. During the shooting, Stanley also encountered the Taliban. Originally made for UNICEF, the film lacks narration save for a Sufi poem. instead, it is accompanied by Simon Boswell's brilliant score.
The White Darkness (2002)
In the year 3000, Richard Stanley was commissioned by BBC to film a Haitian segment for their documentary series Last of the Medicine Men, focusing on Voodoo practices. Wandering around the countryside and recording their observations, the crew witnessed at first hand that "voodoo," usually coined re-animating the dead, is mostly about interacting with and being possessed by otherworld spirits, a tradition which has lived through the occupation and missionary eras and has just recently been acknowledged as a certified religion among others.